Territorial Arizona was not an easy place to live, but it was full of both locals and newcomers hoping for riches and an exciting future. The Arizona Territory joined the Union and became a US state in 1912. Years prior, this 252g copper ingot was produced to celebrate the Sept. 6, 1906 Democratic and Republican territorial conventions. These saddle ingots owe their unique shape to an interlocking system using rods or dowels to stabilize large shipments on rails or the high seas.
The top of the saddle ingot bears the date September 6 (saddle 1), Bisbee Arizona (saddle 2), and 1906 (saddle 3). The primary side reads:
- Left: TERRITORIAL
- Middle: DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN
- Right: CONVENTIONS
Approximately less than a half dozen of these remain in existence.
The bottom is a familiar bright lilac hue peeking through the poured copper. The other side blank with no stamping or inscriptions.
Most of the text/writeup for this borrowed from https://www.instagram.com/oldpouralchemy/.